I have written a book on the politics of autism policy. Building on this research, this blog offers insights, analysis, and facts about recent events. If you have advice, tips, or comments, please get in touch with me at jpitney@cmc.edu

Carrying babies, pushing strollers, holding the hands of their youngsters, angry parents turned out by the hundreds in Sacramento on Wednesday at a Senate Health Committee hearing to protest the bill. One by one, for more than four hours, they stated their objections.

Some took a moment to vilify [state senator Richard] Pan, who also led the 2015 battle to end religious exemptions.

“They’re my kids, they’re not your guinea pigs,” said one father.

“Shame on you,” said a mom holding a “Pan lies” sign.

“You’re a tyrant,” said a man who described himself as the father of a “a healthy, fully unvaccinated child.”

“Sen. Pan, I believe you are committing crimes against humanity,” said a Bay Area mom.

Pan stood at a lectern, listening respectfully, as he was accused of violating the Nuremberg Code, the U.S. Constitution and of imperiling his mortal soul.
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Young adults who were not vaccinated as children may be at particular risk because they were too old to be affected by California’s 2015 law. Their parents were probably influenced by the discredited work of Andrew Wakefield, the British physician whose license to practice medicine was revoked after he alleged a link between vaccines and autism in the late 1990s.

Trying to stop a measles outbreak from spreading, health officials announced Thursday that more than 200 students and staff members at UCLA and Cal State L.A. who have been exposed to measles are being asked to stay home.

The five people diagnosed with measles so far in L.A. County this year include a UCLA student and a Cal State L.A. student. Concerned about the quick spread of disease on busy college campuses, health officials have ordered that students and staff exposed to measles who cannot show they have been vaccinated be quarantined until further notice.

The announcement comes on the same day California health officials said 38 people had been infected with measles so far this year in the state, an increase of 15 from the previous week. Measles has been spiking nationwide this year, with 695 cases in 22 states reported so far, the most in the U.S. since 2000.

County health workers reached out to more than 500 people who may have come into contact with the UCLA student in early April. As of Thursday afternoon, 79 of those students and faculty members had not provided medical records showing that they are immune to measles, according to a statement from the university